February 6, 2010

Other People's Pantries #106

My pantry is great, I know it -- compared to my old house where I used to keep things in a bathroom cabinet -- two side by side spaces with generous pull-out drawers, screened by richly-stained cabinetry.

And still it is not the homey and homely pantry of my dreams that is walk-in and open-shelved. I am ashamed of the state it is in; stuffed to the brim and in disarray. I should resolve to cook everything in it and start over fresh, but I don’t make resolutions I can’t keep. But look at that bag of fat-free pretzels, I don’t eat pretzels or anything fat-free, where did it come from?

I have been just working off the canned area, a little off the dried herbs at the bottom, and the cookie decorating area. I use a lot of fresh veg, so maybe I should be glad it is all just sitting there?! My homemade jelly and jam is in another closet in the garage.

I have to agree with Rhonda. Some of the items in my pantry I am most proud of are the ones I have never eaten which represent some insane impulse to forget how good real food is. The only recipe I ever made totally fat-free tasted like wallpaper paste. Rhonda's pantry is perfect in the lesson she shares...

Hey Lydia and everyone! Thanks for visiting my pantry, wish it was more exciting. Thanks also for stopping by The Garden Buzz. We'll have to do something reciprocal for the summer, like "Other people's potting sheds, other people's compost piles"?? Happy cooking...and gardening.
Rhonda

Hi Rhonda! I loved hearing about your "mystery" items. My own pantry has things the origin of which I will never know, so I can sympathize. On the fat-free pretzel issue--most hard pretzels are very low fat or fat-free without having the recipe adjusted in unnatural ways. The "fat-free" label is probably just a marketing ploy. If you really can't stand the idea of eating those pretzels as-is but want to use them up, grind them up in a food processor (or crush them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin) and use the crumbs as you would dry bread crumbs. They work amazingly well in meatloaf.

Just discovered this blog after Googling "seasoned rice vinegar." This is a great blog. A fun, enjoyable and informative read. Keep up the good work, er, writing (and photography of other people's pantries).

Btw, your post on seasoned rice vinegar was exactly the type of info I was looking for. As a fairly new novice level cooking enthusiast, I recently discovered rice vinegar. I was wondering if I should also stock a bottle of seasoned rice vinegar in my pantry. After reading The Perfect Pantry, I got my answer: No.

Please, please, please continue other people's pantries! Even if only sporadically when you get pics from someone. I look forward to it every Saturday -- and besides it is my weekly reminder that I really must straighten mine and take pictures. Tho' the nice homey mess this week gives me courage to submit mine.

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Welcome to The Perfect Pantry®

My name is Lydia Walshin. From my tiny kitchen in Boston's South End, I share recipes that use what we keep in our pantries, the usual and not-so-usual ingredients that spice up our lives. Thanks so much for visiting.